Morning Brief: Bridgewater Boosts Bet on Emerging Markets

November 14, 2017
Stephen Taub

The world’s largest hedge fund firm increased stakes in its two largest positions, both of which are emerging markets funds, according to a regulatory filing.

Bridgewater Associates, which typically devotes most of its
U.S. equity assets to exchange-traded funds, boosted its bet on
emerging markets in the third quarter, according to a regulatory filing. The
world’s largest hedge fund firm increased stakes
in its two largest positions, both of which are emerging
markets funds. Its stake in a Vanguard emerging markets stock
index fund was increased by 11 percent, and its position in the
iShares MSCI emerging markets ETF by 15 percent.

Bridgewater more than tripled its stake in an iShares core
MSCI emerging markets fund, now its fourth largest position
accounting for nearly 9 percent of its U.S. equity assets,
according to the filing. The firm also disclosed that it
increased its bet on a gold ETF by nearly six-fold.

Bridgewater’s entire U.S. stock portfolio was
valued at nearly $11 billion at the end of September, which
works out to less than 7 percent of the firm’s
total $160 billion of assets under management. The
firm’s three largest positions, including the SPDR
S&P 500 trust, account for about 62 percent of its equity
portfolio.

___

Shares of Buffalo Wild Wings surged 28 percent to around
$150 in after-hours trading after the casual dining restaurant
chain received an acquisition offer from Roark Capital Group,
according to a report from The Wall Street
Journal, which cited people familiar with the matter.
Roark offered more than $150 a share, the newspaper said. If
the deal goes through at the price, Buffalo Wild Wings would be
valued at $8 more per share than what stockowner Mick McGuire
III’s Marcato Capital Management disclosed paying
in a regulatory filing.

___

Marcato Capital Management released November 13 an investor
presentation to Deckers Outdoor Corp. shareholders making the
case for changing the entire board of directors.
"Deckers’ inability to deliver on its short- and
long-term financial goals is unacceptable," Mick McGuire,
Marcato’s managing partner, said in the hedge
fund’s announcement about its presentation. "We
believe immediate change is needed at the board level as a
result of the incumbent directors’ lack of urgency
and failure to provide proper oversight of management."

___

Baupost Group trimmed the value of its U.S. equity portfolio
to $8 billion at the end of the third quarter, from $8.75
billion the previous quarter, according to its latest 13F filing. The hedge fund headed by Seth
Klarman did not establish any new significant positions.
However, it liquidated its stake in Qualcomm.